Wrench



P. E. PAGE WRENCH Filed Dec. 13 1923 Inventor Attorney Pat n d p 924.

UNITED STATES WRENCH.

. Application filed December 13, 1923. semi in 680,513.

To all whom it may, concern."

Be it known that 1, PAUL EPAG a sub ject of the Kingof Great Britain, residing at Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new'and useful Improveinents in renches; and I do hereby declare that the 'following is a fn-l'l, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in. the art 'to 10 which it appertains' to make and use the same.

' The present invention pertains to improvement on the wreneh disclosed in the United States patentwto Stephen-R. Audibert. 1,081,193, December 9th,1913;

a ratchet bar slidable therealong, and a handle disposed beneath ,the lower end of the shank. f The lower end of the ratchet bar 2Q is formed witha single lug; adapted-for reit ception-ina thread cut in the upper-end of the handle.- Ajaw which is :sli'dable along the shank rnay be' moved into engagement with the article to be gripped, and the grip is the ratchet bar:is shiftedu pwardly, carrying with it the movablejaw by reasonof a toothed engagement therewith. In order so that the ratchet bar may be held .inconstant lar' is placed around these members atthe lower ends thereof, while the upper end of I the bar is formediwith an 'anu'receivable in a pocket cut in the' shank. Y

such'a manner that the special connecting the-use of the patenteddevice.

4 Both these objects are fulfilled by providwhich surround the threads of the bar, as distinguished (from the external thread of the patented wrench which receives the lug secured-by -rotation of the handle whereby engagement withthe shank,a retaining col- One of the objects of the present invention is awrench of this character constructed in ing' the ratchet bar with a plurality of eX-v terna l threads at its lower end, in lieu ofthe inwardly -'projecting=lng of the patented "construction. The handlexof the presentin. vention 'is formed with internalthreads projecting troin the bar. In". 'view ofjt e fact that the connection between "tlie'ratch'et bar and-handle in the resent".eo'nstnuetien ex sts over an elongated region, the ratehet bar isheld in engagement with'the' shank without-"further provision. Moreover, the

Wear and breakage whichfare'fd e to concentrated strain .-inthepatente d construction.

Still another object of the inuentiorfis at iawis the Ku ib fi Pa 1;;10a927, July 21st, 1914," a plate is Yshqwn I for applicationto the lower or, InoYablejaW The patented device comprises a: shank,

of'the wrench. When the jawis th lS 8 P- ii a thewr mh must b held in m sed positien or must be .tnrned in the direction opposite to that in which awrenchiis ordi na-rily turned. In the: new. constrnction, the

separable plate is. applied to the upper-or, stationary jaw so that the wrench may be.

turned in the usual inanner. I The invention is'fully' disclosedinthe following description and in'the accompanying drawings in: which: L

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the wrench;

Fig. 2 is. a front ele rationfthereofi Fig. 3=1s algng tudlnal sect1on;.;

Fig. is a p ifipectiye ,view' f heratehet;

. Fig.5 is asection-hn theiiaeisgsef Fig.-

3: and

v Fig. 6 is a perspectiye viewjfef the separa ble jaw plate. l i

fact that a plurality of threads is used gtizoi'ds.

Reference will nowhe to these I by" means of likelcharacter s which .are employed to designate corresponding parts} throughout. Y v Y I The wrench, gasfshown particularly in Figure 3, comprises an, elongated shank l at the upper end O=fWl1iCl1iSfOIl116d an; en-

larged portionior ledge 2. Upon the-latter:-

-- member is carried astationary j are 3,'preferably formed as-an integral partot the shank. I

teeth 5, while'the lower "end has'iscrew' threads 6 [cut therein. The: bar, is; not fixed to the shank, butis free to-slide' therealon'g,

as. is pointed out below.

V The shank and bar are surrounded by a slidable or movable jaw 7 formed with a toothed extension 8 adapted for cooperation with the teeth of the bar 4. The aperture 9 of the movable jaw, within which the shank is contained, is slightly wider than the shank, as shown in Figure 3. The rear side of the jaw is formed with a recess 10 into which projects a spring 11 secured to the top of the jaw. This spring normally engages an edge of the shank and pulls the toothed portion 8 into engagement with the ratchet teeth 5. Because of this construction, the movable jaw may be swung in such a manner that the toothed portion 8 disengages the teeth 5 against the action of the spring 11, whereby this jaw may be adjusted to the article to which the wrench is to be i applied. 7

The shank has at its lower end a substantially cylindrical stem 12, slightly flattened as at 13 to permit the ratchet bar 4: to slide therealong A screw 14 is'provided at the lower end ofthe stem and is adapted to receive a nut 15. r

'The lower portion of the shank, including the stem 12, is surrounded by a handle 16 formed with internal threads 17. The latter are adapted to engage the threads 6, as shown in Figure 3. It will be understood that the handle is applied before the nut 15 is screwed on the member 14. The intermediate portion of the shank is formed with a shoulder 18 which is engaged by a loose ring 19 surrounding the shank and ratchet bar. This ring completes the design of the wrench, and may be entirely omitted, as will be evident from the following description of operation.

In order to convert the wrench to a tool of the alligator jaw type, there is provided a separable jaw plate 20 having a flat top21 and a notched bottom 22 which is disposed at an angle to the top. The top is formed with a rib 23 engageable. in a recess 24 in the lower surface of the stationary jaw 3. To

thesides of the plate is pivoted a yoke 25, the back 25' of which is receivable in a groove26 cut in. the top of the stationary In use,the movable jaw 7 is tilted out of engagement with the ratchet bar in the man- "ner'alr'eadydescribed. Thetwo jaws are then clamped against the article to be gripped, and the lower jawis released whereby the spring llbrings the toothed extension 1' 8' back into engagement with the ratchet 0 direction which will retract the teeth 5 The handle 16 is now turned in the I internal threads 17 thereof towardsthe lower end of "the shank. The/handle is incapable of'loni'g1tudinal displacement; with relation to the shankowing to the fact that it is bound between the nut 15 and ring 19. Consequently the rack must move, and is accordingly shifted towards the upper jaw. The lower jaw 7 is carried therewith on account of its toothed engagement with the rack, whereby the grip upon the article which is clamped is tightened.

In the above-mentioned Patent 1,108,193, the lower end of the ratchet is held against the shank by means of a ring. The corre sponding ring is not necessary in the present device, since sufficient engagement is obtained by reason of the reception of the plurality of threads 6 in the internal threads '17 of the handle. Moreover, the patented device requires a special construction for retaining the upper end of the ratchet in engagement with the shank in order to prevent displacement of the ratchet when the movable jaw is tilted. The plurality of threads 6 and 17 in the present instance are sufficient also to hold the upper end of the ratchet bar in proper position. The ring 19 does not correspond to the ring of the patented de-.

vice, and may be eliminated, as already stated. It will be observed. that the above described properties of the threads 6 and 17 are due to the fact that the ratchet bar. is

partiallysurrounded by the handle, as dis-.

tinguished from the patented construction in which the ratchet bar overlies the thread of the handle.

In the patented wrench,: connection between the handle and the ratchet bar is 011* tained by means of a single lug on the bar extending into a thread cut in the outer surface of the handle. This connection is rather weak, and is likely to. break whenthe movable jaw is jammed against a nut or the.

like.

Further diliicultyin this construction is that the single thread becomes worn,'

whereupon the lugflis liable to slip out. It will be noted that the improved construction comprises a plurality of threads on the ratchet bar engageable within a plurality of threads in thehandle. The strain on these two members is therefore distributed,and the likelihood of wearing and breaking of threads is eliminated. i

While a specific embodiment of'the inveninvention as indicated by the appended claims.

Having thus fullydescribed the invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is;

1. A wrench comprising a shank having a jaw at one end thereof, a rack-bar slidably engaging said shank and obstructed from said jaw, a movable jaw surrounding said shank and bar and h'aving'a toothed exten sion adapted for engagement with said bar,

said bar having a threaded portion at its lower end, and a handle surrounding sald shank and threaded portion, said handle having internal threads for receiving the threaded portion of the bar.

2. A wrench comprising a shank having a jaw at one end thereof, a rack-bar slidably engaging only one side of said shank throughout its entire length and obstructed from said jaw, a movable jaw surrounding said shank and bar and having a toothed extension adapted for engagement with said 10 In witness whereof I have hereunto set-16 my hand.

PAUL E. PAGE. 

